The city of

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

(Pola) had an electric

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

system in the early 20th century. It was built in 1904 as a part of Pula's economic crescendo during the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

rule. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, under

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

rule, the need for tram transportation declined and it was finally dismantled in 1934.

History

The trial run was completed on March 24, 1904 and regular traffic started the next day. The tracks started at the rail station. One branch traversed along the coast and Arsenal to St. Policarp where there was the depot and today there is the cement factory. The second branch passed by Marina Casino and across the center of the city along the Arena, and then again to the railroad station. Later on a branch from Arena to Šiana forest was built. There was a plan to expand the tracks to

Fažana Fažana (; Italian: ''Fasana,'' ) is a village and a municipality on the western coast of Istria, in Croatia. Yugoslavia's former President, Josip Broz Tito, was fond of Fažana and the Brijuni Islands The Brijuni () or the Brijuni Islands ( ...

and

Vodnjan Vodnjan (; it, Dignano) is a town in Istria County, Croatia, located about 10 kilometers north of the largest city in Istria, Pula. History According to the legend, it developed out of the association of seven villas which were part of the colon ...

. The width of the tracks was 1435 millimeters. After World War I, the tram system was challenged by bus lines and so on June 16, 1934 the tram line was closed and public transportation was taken over by the "Gattoni" bus company.

Modern day

In 2021, funds were secured for the initial phase of a new tram system in Pula which would travel roughly from the train station to Pragrande via the waterfront, including using existing infrastructure where possible.

Sources

*
Istria on the Internet - Tramways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trams In Pula

Pula 1904 establishments in Croatia